E3 2006: Twilight Princess In-Depth
We play through the entire demo and break down the details.
by Peer Schneider
May 10, 2006 - First there was one, now there are two. Nintendo announced yesterday that it would release two different versions of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess -- one for GameCube, as previously shown, and one for Nintendo Wii. Shown at numerous demo kiosks in Nintendo's booth, we were able to go hands-on with the title this morning. Does the Zelda formula work with Wii's new controllers? Or will long-time fans be disappointed with the changes? We sent one such long-time fan, self-professed Zelda nut Peer Schneider to go in-depth with the title. Here are his impressions:
Let's cut to the chase: yes, it sure works. When I initially heard that Nintendo was adding Wii controller support to my most anticipated videogame, I was worried. After all, Zelda titles aren't really about pointing and clicking and more about fighting and puzzle solving. I had a feeling sword-slashing freehand controls would feel gimmicky in a third-person game and ultimately be far less accurate than the traditional lock-on/button control. In hindsight, I should have had more faith in Nintendo's Zelda team. The developer smartly integrated Wii pointer and nunchuck control to deliver something that not only works, but feels fresh.
Remember playing Majora's Mask back on the N64? Despite the novel three-day setup, some players found that it felt a bit too similar to The Ocarina of Time and thus simply wasn't as exciting and fresh. I have a feeling Twilight Princess might have turned out the same way. It's a gorgeous game filled with great puzzles and characters -- and apparently it's a longer and more involved quest than any Zelda game before it -- but it's firmly rooted in the TOoT-style of gameplay. Well, not anymore. The changes the control setup in the Wii version adds to the game profoundly impact the game's feel. Fishing feels new. Blocking feels new. Shooting arrows feels new. Even the spin attack has a new twist to it. So even though you may encounter a familiar looking puzzle, the new control dynamics give everything a fresh coat of paint. Yes, you can get excited now.
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